As is appreciated in the sport of baseball, a baseball player who is batting at home plate against a pitcher is known as a batter who is at bat. A big part of the offensive success of a baseball team stems from each batter's ability to swing a baseball bat and hit a baseball that is thrown to them by the pitcher. There are many different factors that affect a batter's ability to hit a baseball that is thrown to them. While some of these factors can be controlled by the batter (e.g., where the batter stands in relation to home plate, and the mechanics of how the batter swings their bat), many others of these factors are completely out of the batter's control (e.g., the current lighting and weather conditions, the skill level of the pitcher, and the types of pitches that the pitcher throws to the batter). As such, it is often said that hitting a baseball while being at bat is one of the hardest things to do in sports.
Baseball players must possess a strong mastery of a combination of many diverse skills to be able to frequently hit a baseball that is thrown to them while they are at bat. While a very small number of baseball players are gifted with the talent/skills to frequently hit a baseball that is thrown to them while they are at bat, the vast majority of baseball players have to work on their batting/hitting skills. Baseball players continuously strive to improve the mechanics of how they swing their baseball bat (e.g., perfect their swing), with a goal of becoming a better hitter (e.g., increasing the speed of their swing and frequency of getting a hit while they are at bat). Various types of training aids exist that are intended to help baseball players become a better hitter.